Tomato coring mechanism



July 5, 1949.

TOMATO CORING MECHANISM Filed April 12, 1948 2 Shee'ts-Sheet l [.72 35 35 FIG. 2.

37 34 v 39 24 3 37 as 33 I5 l5 8 lo l2 l5 3 l2 40 I4 35 l4 l6 E 4% l6 l7 i 1 Q 1 l 29 Q 120 I 1 2| l8 2| D l l JNVENTOR. THOMAS M. KANE, SR.

A TTORNE Y T. M. KANE, SR 2,475,142

1949' "r. M. KANE, sR

TOMATO CORING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 12, 1948 FIG. 3.

Patented July 5, 1949 OFFHC TOMATO CURING MECHANISM Thomas M. Kane, Sn, Baltimore, Md.

Application April 12, 1948, Serial No. 20,568

3 Claims.

This invention refers to devices intended for the cutting out and removal of the stalk remnants and cores of tomatoes, and is an improvement on my Patent No. 2,433,125, dated December 23, 1947.

While there have been various forms of core removing devices developed and employed, such are ordinarily designed to bore entirely through the fruit or vegetable chosen, and in a particular form used for gouging out the core of a tomato, the core is removed by the use of a bent loop in the coring mechanism. This loop tends to di into the core, and facilitate its removal but in doing so tears parts of the insides of the tomato with it. This had a tendency to spoil the appearance of the tomato and render it less useful and valuable.

In this invention the core is not dug out, but the removal is provided for, more effectively by having two tubes with teeth on their lower ends which are positioned, one in the other, and rotated in opposite directions to cleanly cut the core vertically and having plural jaws to cut the core transversely as they move one towards the other. This transverse movement of the plural jaws to grip the loose core as the mechanism is raised out of the tomato, or the tomato lowered from the mechanism, whichever may be desired. These jaws operate, as the transverse cutters of the device and in rotating, exerts a gradual increasing pressure on the loose core that facilitates its removal in a clean and effective manner. This is done automatically and with a minimum amount of manual handling.

For a better understanding of the invention,

and the objects and principles thereof, reference is made to the appended drawings. These drawings together with the following description outline a particular form of the invention, that illustrate the invention by way of example. Also in connection with the description are claims that particularly emphasize the scope of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a tomato corer embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the corer shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the cutter head shown in section to show its inner construction;

Figure 4 is an enlarged view with parts broken away to show its inner construction;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 shows the casing with its jaws supported thereon;

Figure '7 is a sectional view taken along line H of Figure 3, and

Figure 8 is a typical view of the cutting end of the device inserted in a tomato with the core portion cut loose and being raised out of the tomato by the jaws.

Similar reference characters relate to the same parts throughout the drawings.

In the drawings, a tomato coring machine has a vertical stand it? with a flat base ll designed suitably for placement on a horizontal surface, such as a table or bench. The stand has an upper bracket ill extending horizontally from it and supporting a bearing it in which a tubular casing it revolves vertically. The casing i4 is held in position by means of the collars i5 mounted thereon. The casing it is rigidly connected to a bevel gear it, which in turn is meshed at right angles with a second or driving bevel gear ii. The casing it, has teeth 53 on its lower end. The gear ii is mounted on a shaft if) that passes through a bearing id in the stand Ill to be driven by a pulley 22 or other transmission means. An other under bevel gear 2i is rotated by the gear l? at right angles to it and is used for rotating a cutter tubing to which it is rigidly attached. The lower end of the tubing 22 is provided with teeth 23 that are made to out into a tomato and make a cylindrical out into it. This tubing 22 rotates outside the casing is. The teeth 25 and 53 rotate in opposite directions, and are aligned one within the other. An inner vertical shaft 243 is reeiprocable in the casing I l and carries upper peripheral lugs 25 and a cylindrical bushing 25 at its end. The bushing 25 has two grooves 27 on opposite sides aligned with the lugs 25 and cut, with their bottom surfaces 28 on a slant. The cutter tubing 2?; is vertically disposed and normally held in that position, but subject to rotation by the gear 2i. It is placed loosely over the casing id and is guided thereby and kept in line. The casing Hi has a central longitudinal passage 29 in which the shaft 23 reciprocates. The spaces til are grooves in the peripheral wall of the shaft E i and keep it aligned with the lugs 25 and the casing it during the strokes and travel of the latter. The shaft 25 in its stroke brings its lugs 25 and the bushing it into contact with a pair of lever jaws 3! and moves them in and out, on their middle pivot points 32. These jaws have end portions 25' slidably guided along the grooves 30 on shaft 2%. The pivots 32 are set in the wall of the casing M and hold the jaws 3! in a stationary position aligned with the teeth 23. These jaws can open outwardly and close inwardly as the lugs 25 and bushing 26 engage their levers during the movement of the shaft 24. The grooves 3%] allow for wider opening of the jaws. A coil spring 33 under the shaft head 34 keeps a tension on the shaft 2 3 tending to keep it upward and the jaws 3! closed. A cam 35 engages the head 34 and tends to push the shaft 24 down as it rotates due to the engagement of jaws 3| with the grooves 30, against the action of the spring 33. A series of gears 36, shaft 37 suitably supportedon a bracket 38, serve as the mechanism to operate the cam 35 from the gear It. In addition an arm... through its yoke 39 is raised and lowered by the cam 35 when it contacts the headz't lfll'iihesiower end of arm it ispivotally connectedto alever;

ll and raises or lowers a dished out table "42 mounted on a stem 43. ThisftableAZ ismsedifor supporting a tomato 5G to be processedand lifting it to be cored by the teeth 23 and 53 andjaws3l. The stem 43 reciprocates in passage 44 in a holder 45 placed axially-in line'with the teetlr"of'- the cutter tubing 22 and casing hl. A: bracket -46 supports the lever fll by its pivot' i'l. The-lever 3! has a slot id'arranged to prevent thebinding of thepinAi-lin it as'the stem l3 is'raised and lowered. The jaws 3! are preferably made as indicated in the drawings 'and with their-lower edges 56 sharpened.

In the operation of the machine the-gears l'l and-gear-HS rotate the casing I 4'in one' dire'ction and the cam mechanism starts turninglthec'am 35unti1 itpushes downon the-head and clutch and operates the levers 40 and Al to raise the "tab1eJ-42 and bring the tomato against'theteeth 23 and 53. The cutter tubing '22 is oppositely 35 rotated by the gears ll and 21 atthe'sam'eeti-me. This'scausestheteeth to cut-into the tomato 'and cut a'cylindrical section, the-jaws 31 being turned s also, but-"not causing anyparticularelfectin the first position. During the" cutting, ithe j'aw's 3l' ..are expanded tor-open, but when the--"cam 35 :reaches the position where thecam is being rais'ed 101i the headxand'the table 42 being lowerledythe j'aws come together andcut-thebottom ioi the :corerand-holdsitiaiter it has been cutout; this @pullsithe' core out ofwtheit'oniatoli and'sieaves" it isin 'theaj awsireadyi for removal. The device is run 1 again without at tomato'onnthe table 42;- so that 1 fwhenithe jaws aretopened again-"they willldrop nthe core,fso it maybe removed.

' The tomato 50 is kept from turning during-the .rotationof the tubing 22 and'casingilhandzjaws 3I';Tby meansof a series 'of. loose iverticalipinsfil =mountedn a plate- 52, astheymake engagement with the tomato when itheilatter is' raised' Thisis a conventional operation "and already' onlfrecs ord in Patent No. 2,433,125:byithisrzinventoriand therefore does not require vfurtherIexplanation.

. By means 'of.tthis mechanism; the ;core is'icut- .out to a suitable: :d'epth without zunnecessarilyaoo ,-.;tearing'.thetomato: material'zoutsidefofi ititltt is specifications, it is not desired to limit this apvplicationifortpatent tothis particular form or in "any other way otherwise than-limited by'the scope thereof, as it is appreciated that other forms of reconstruction could be made that would use the same principles and come within the scope of the mappehdedclaims.

Having. thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

"i la A'Jcorlngma'chine comprising a stand, a casing carried by said stand, means for rotating said casing in one direction, a cutting tubing eo-axial with and surrounding'said casing, means for ro- -"-tating'-said tubing-in a direction"opposite-to-that "of'said" ca'sing,-" teeth'at the end portions of -said casing and tubing "and aligned"with 'each other "for coring atomato; a shaft within'said casing "and" rotatable therewith; means forreciproc'ating "saidshaft, a'pluralityof'jaws pivoted to said casing and extehding within said tubing and termihating-"iii line with said aforementioned teeth,

' means on-said shaft for engaging said jaws" to "op'en ahdclose said-jaws, and a'm'ovable table for supportingthe' tomato in position to-be cored by'said'teeth' andjaws.

2;- A' -coringm-achine' as set forth in claim 1, means "connecting said shaft and "table to coordinate the operations of said table" withsaid teeth and jaws.

Apori ng machine as set fo'rth'in claim 1, "wherein the-means for reciprocating saidshait "include 'an 'ext'ensiononsaid' shaft, a'cam' cooperating with" said "extension; means for 'driving "said camya'nd' a'connection between said extension and said table tosynehronize movement of "flsaidtable' with said teethahd'jaws.

"THOMAS' M; KANE; SR.

I Thetfoilowingreferenlces -are of record in the I ifile of' this patent:

= (3 UNITED STAT-ES PATENTS Number "Name Date '1',"06"6,'233 -Steelman v v Julyl, i913 1,282,402 Fenn. Oct. 22,1918 T. 11443532 1 Harding .'."Mar. 13', 1923 23591881 S'err -I-OctflO, 1944 523133325 .ZKane DecQ 23, 1947 :FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1 3471776 Great'Britam :lMay 7, 11331 

